Week of September 28th

 Hi Everyone! Hope you've all had a great week!

Can you believe we've been in school almost a month already?

We've been spending more time on our Chromebooks during each subject. The students know we are doing this just in case any of of us in the class may have to spend time at home for an extended period of time. It helps us troubleshoot technical problems together in the classroom instead of by ourselves at home. We are practicing logging in, working on Google Classroom, and other online programs that will support our learning.

MASK UPDATE:  We are three weeks into school and while students are doing so well at wearing masks, it is getting "more annoying" for some kids. I am working hard to honor kids wanting a few seconds of a mask break every once in a while. However, some kids are getting too comfortable pulling their masks down. Maybe ask your child if I have talked to them about wearing their masks correctly or if I have had to tell them to put a mask on. Some masks are too big and some are too small, I am trying to help the best I can. Please ask your child to try theirs on in front of you, is their nose sticking out the top? If so, try to find a mask that fits better, or let me know and I will get them a better fitting masks from school. As Mr. Duerwaechter said in his e-mail today, we all need to do our part to keep schools open. Please remind your child how important wearing a mask is.

We've really enjoyed shaking up our reading time this week. We spent one day this week reading outside soaking up the beautiful weather and another day we spent reading by the "fire".

Next week our class begins leading the morning announcements for the school. Each student will be offered the opportunity to read the announcements over the school intercom. If a student feels nervous doing it by themselves, they are offered to give the school announcements with a friend in the class.

Next week is Custodian Appreciation Day. NDLC is compiling photos of each class showing their appreciation to our great Custodian staff. Here's our class photo with our Thank You sign!

Daily Health Screening: Please see this link for daily health screening. Parents should go through each of these questions with their child before the start of each school day.

Upcoming Events:

September 30th: Picture Day

September 30th: Ms. Burris is out for training (I will still be in the building)

October 1st: Ms. Burris is out for training (I will still be in the building)

October 1st: Unit 1 Math Test

Curriculum Update:

Reading: This week we will be learning how to see more in our reading habits and in our stories. Students will acknowledge the reading work they've already done and identify their patterns of strength and how to build on those strengths. They will also be identifying what they don't do as a reader and discover new ways of getting better at reading. We will continue working on noticing details, being thoughtful readers, and asking questions to see more in our stories.

Writing: We will incorporate what were learning in reading this week into what we are writing in our own stories! Students will continue writing their book series.

Math: We have learned everything that this unit has to teach! Place value, rounding, and adding and subtracting large numbers. This week we will be reviewing all the things we have learned and practicing our skills. On Monday, a math review will be coming home. It is NOT required, however it is so VERY helpful to complete before Friday's Unit Test. The test will look identical (aside from the number choice) for each problem. I will attach the answer page for you to use, however it's helpful for me if you mark the problems that were difficult for your child, so I can better help them this week in the classroom.

As always, your child is welcome (and encouraged) to log onto Freckle and Xtramath at night or on the weekends to practice math skills. The students seem to like both websites. You have parent access to Xtramath too, if you would like to see their progress.

Word Study: We are talking about consonant suffixes and vowel suffixes to the end of words. We are also talking about the exceptions. The English language always seems to have exceptions!

Content: We are continuing to work on geography and better understanding the locations of continents and oceans. This week we will zoom into Wisconsin and the areas around the state. If you have time, please review (or just talk about) these things with your child.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Best,

Carly Burris